Daddy's Little Princess
by DiehardJavaJunkie14
Summary: Fluffy future fic... a series of little moments in the lives of Lorelai, Luke, and their daughter... a fatherdaughter story with some familiar faces thrown in!
1. Princess To Be

Lorelai sat in the living room, constantly eyeing the clock. Yes, it was Saturday night, and yes, Saturday nights were usually very busy at the diner, but tonight, Lorelai's impatience was getting the best of her. She tapped her fingers on the arm of the couch as she grew more anxious. She quickly walked into the kitchen, grabbed her third apple since she'd been home, and took a bite out of it. Lorelai was never known for her patience, but this was getting ridiculous.

She stood up from the kitchen table, frustrated at her inability to stay in one place, and sat on the step, licking her finger clean of some juice from the apple. She stared at the door, waiting for Luke to walk through. After only a few minutes of watching the door, she became restless again. She began to walk around the foyer area, pacing as she finished her apple. Paul Anka tilted his head in confusion as Lorelai again walked into the kitchen to throw away the apple core.

She grabbed a paper towel to wipe her hands when she heard the door open. Lorelai quickly walked into the foyer to greet her husband. "Luke!" she said, a smile spreading across her face.

"Hey," Luke said, taking off his jacket.

Lorelai stood on her tiptoes and pulled Luke in for a kiss. She must have wowed him with that kiss, because he pulled away somewhat reluctantly, and taken aback.

"Well, that was quite the greeting," he said.

Lorelai smiled. "I had a good day. Here, come on in the living room, I want to talk to you about something."

She grabbed him by the hand and sat down on the couch, her blue eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. Still grinning, she took a deep breath.

"Is this about the difference between "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink" again? Lorelai, I've told you a hundred times, I now understand the difference between the two, and I also know that Tom Hanks is the male lead in "Sleepless in Seattle," so you don't have to go through that again, either," Luke grumbled.

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, this talk is better than that."

"Please don't tell me that you're going to make me watch "The Godfather" again," Luke moaned.

"Better."

Luke sat for a moment, staring at Lorelai in awe and confusion. It seemed odd to be both confused and amazed by Lorelai, but of course, he was.

"It's all about 'When Harry Met Sally'. Grab something to eat from the kitchen, bring it out here, and listen to me talk. You don't even have to watch the movie," Lorelai pleaded.

Luke consented. He always knew Lorelai had so much influence in the relationship. No matter how many times he tried, she would never order a salad at the diner. She would drink coffee after seven, and be jittery all night. But there was something about his inability to stop her that made him love her more. He walked into the kitchen, and sitting on the kitchen table was a bowl of apples.

Apples?

He vaguely remembered the significance of the apples. She had mentioned them a few times to him, but that was a few years ago. He turned to Lorelai, who stood behind him, and pointed to the bowl staring back at him.

"Apples?" he asked, slightly shocked.

Lorelai simply nodded.

"Well, if those are… then you're… we're… and…"

She giggled at his inability to speak at the thought that they were going to have a baby. "Yes, Luke," she said, somehow deciphering the happiness within the stuttering.

He pulled her in for a kiss. They hadn't been married long, that was for sure, but no one expected it to take as long as it did. He was finally going to be a dad… well, okay, he was a dad already. He had April, and he was Rory's protector and step-dad. But Luke and Lorelai were finally going to have their middle.

"I love you so much," Luke said, still trying to get over the shock.

Lorelai grinned. "Caught you off guard, did it?"

He nodded as he placed his hand on her stomach.

"It really shouldn't… I mean, the way you and I handle things?" she teased with a wink.

Luke blushed. "Aww, Jeez," he said, walking to the oven.

Lorelai sat down at the table. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Making a celebratory dinner. Your last hurrah before I cut you back," Luke said, turning to Lorelai.

She shrugged. "You can try. But, while you're cooking, we're going through the book."

Luke shuddered at the idea of any sort of book having to do with pregnancy. He was already going to get a visual once, and he sure didn't need a preview. But when Lorelai came down with a name book, he felt somewhat relieved. Lorelai sat down, opened up the book, and the notebook, and made two columns, one marked "Lorelai" and the other "Luke". She also pulled out a pink hi-liter and a blue hi-liter.

"Your sudden organizational ability frightens me," he said, stirring the pasta.

Lorelai waved her hand at him. "Come on, now, I want this baby's name to be a very special one. I hadn't thought a lot about Rory's name, being that it was influenced by both feminism and painkillers, and obviously I had no one else but Emily and Richard's influence, so it's a lot different this time. If that means organization, then so be it."

She flipped through the pages, blacking certain names out with a black Sharpie. Those would be the names they would never consider. The first name Lorelai came across was "Christopher". Her nose scrunched up as an automatic reaction to the sight of the name.

"Are you defacing a book? I really think Rory is less like you than you realize," Luke teased.

Lorelai looked up at him, making a face of disgust. "Watch it, mister, remember that a pregnant woman's moods can switch more than Anne Heche switches sides," she said, pointing the Sharpie at him as a warning. "And besides, we have to eliminate all the names that we know we will never use. What's the point of them being there if they give us emotional pain?"

Luke shrugged. "You're the boss," he said, adjusting the oven knobs.

She started to seek out names now, blacking out "Jason" on her way to "Nicole" and "Rachel". It made her feel like those chapters in her life were over, and she and Luke could enjoy what was upcoming. After strategically eliminating "Kirk", "Taylor", and "Babette", she began reading names out loud, seeking approval from Luke.

"Ooh! What about Roxanne?" Lorelai blurted out.

"Roxanne? So you can sing to our kid?"

"ROOOXANNNE!" Lorelai sang loudly.

"No," Luke insisted. "Our baby is not being named after a song by the Police."

Lorelai blacked out the name, pouting at Luke. "Ooh! What about Molly?"

"I know that was after Molly Ringwald, so… nice try, but no," Luke replied, without even looking at Lorelai.

"So I'm guessing Sabrina's out, too," she said.

"Any notable movie character or celebrity name should be blacked out with it if that's the reason the name sounds good to you. What's with you throwing out just girl names, anyway?" he asked.

Lorelai smiled. "Well, I have a sixth sense about these things."

"You have a sixth sense? Please don't tell me you see dead people, because I won't believe you."

She shook her head. "Mother's intuition. You're getting a little princess, and you're gonna love it."

Luke smiled. He would love the idea of having a little princess, if he and Lorelai were, in fact, going to have a girl. But, he consented to Lorelai's crazy theory, and sat down at the table. "I like the name Leah," he said casually.

Lorelai stopped and capped her black Sharpie. She was almost caught off guard by Luke's suggestion. She closed the book without hesitation and leaned in to kiss him.

"I do, too."


	2. Just Like Mommy

The past few hours had been a whirlwind for Luke. Well, the past nine months had been crazy. Lorelai's cravings, usually disgusting, were frequently changing, keeping him on his toes. The mood swings weren't as frequent, but he found himself walking on eggshells around her when he previously could have teased her about anything. But, this particular day was definitely nuts, even though it was only 4:34. Luke was awakened around one for the first snow of the season, and then Lorelai's water broke. Leave it to Lorelai to go into labor in the middle of the night, when it was snowing.

The ride to the hospital was rather tricky, because the roads were beginning to freeze. To top it all off, it seemed as though the moment that Luke collected his thoughts and got Lorelai into the truck, it began to snow harder. Getting Lorelai to the hospital quickly, but without skidding off the road, proved difficult.

Leah Rose Danes didn't wait long after Luke and Lorelai arrived at the hospital to make her grand entrance. Luke sat in the chair beside Lorelai's bed, holding his little girl, trying to piece together the day's events, to comprehend how his life had just changed. Luke held her cautiously, almost afraid to move around with her in his arms despite the fact that his arm was getting numb from sitting in the same position for so long. He glanced at Lorelai, almost to inform her of his plan to shift in the chair to regain feeling in his arm, but she was asleep.

Luke took a look at Leah, then at Lorelai again, to ensure that she was really sleeping. He repositioned his arm, waking Leah, who looked up at Luke with her big blue eyes.

"You have eyes just like your mother, you know that?" he whispered.

Leah stared back for a moment, then shut her eyes once again.

"I have a feeling those eyes will get me into a lot of trouble," Luke said with a smile.

Leah fell into a deeper sleep, and she obviously wouldn't answer him, but he kept talking anyway.

"They're just like Lorelai's. I mean, you look just like her… like Patty and Babette and everyone else said you would. Heck, you came on the first snow of the season, and the fact that you almost came in the truck proves you have a flair for the dramatic… again, just like your mother."

He took one look at his wife, who he had a new respect for. He was never one for mush, fluffiness, or emotion (not to mention blood or hospitals) but the experience gave Luke a little perspective in his life. As cheesy as it sounded, it was true, he loved Lorelai more because of all of this. He again focused his attention on Leah.

"And don't get me wrong… that's a really, really good thing. Your mom's a great, wonderful, amazing person. She's intelligent, funny, caring… but one thing I hope you don't get is her coffee addiction. Okay, well, it's probably a little late for that, because I'm sure she snuck many a cup of coffee in the past nine months, but there's hope, right?"

Luke took Leah's tiny hand and kissed it. He had held babies before, and he'd babysat for Liz and TJ, but he knew that somehow being a dad again would be a learning experience. He was glad to have Lorelai, the world's kid expert, to help him out.

"You know, I'm glad you're not picky. Because if you were, you'd realize that my experience with kids… well, let's just say I don't have a very long track record. I've known your sister Rory since she was little, but she was already in school. And I've only known April for a few years, so this is all kind of new for me. I've never known one of my girls from the moment they were born… and you know what else? I've made some comments in the past about kids that aren't so nice. Well, deep down, I wanted kids, but I think I was kind of afraid. I said the whole jam hands thing, probably trying to convince myself I didn't want kids because I thought that it wasn't going to happen for me."

Luke sighed. He felt silly having a heart to heart with his newborn daughter. But then again, a part of him felt like he had a lot to say to her at the same time. He took a look around, again making sure that no one was there listening or watching, and began to talk some more.

"You know what? Your mom mentioned to me that I'd have a little girl, who would be my little princess. I thought about it, and that doesn't sound like a half bad idea. I mean, we all know that you have some of my DNA in you, you're probably going to get Lorelai's personality. But that's not a terrible thing, because I love your mom. If you were just like her, in the long run, I would be happy."

Luke's back started to get sore. He had been sitting still in the chair for a while, and he figured it would be okay to stand up and stretch out. He stood up and walked with Leah, still sleeping in his arms, toward the door. He quickly chided himself for going near the open door, because tubes and stretchers and all the things he hated most about the hospital were out there. He walked back to the chair.

"I'm not a really sentimental guy. I mean, I feel things, but you know, I'm not emotional like your mother. She's got enough of that for the both of us."

Lorelai sat up, hysterically laughing. "What? Are you corrupting our daughter this early in her life?"

Luke turned red. "You were listening?"

Lorelai nodded. "To the entire thing. You're so sweet, Luke, come here."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I thought you were sleeping," he protested.

"Well, I'm a good actress. According to some, I have a flair for the dramatic. I was wide awake."

"So you heard everything?"

Lorelai held out her hands to take Leah. "Yeah, pretty much. You're good at talking to people who don't talk back, it's an interesting concept."

"Well, I had a heart to heart with her, okay?"

"And you claim you're not emotional?"

"If you wouldn't have interrupted me, I would have confessed I'm a softie. But apparently someone jumped the gun. The best stuff was coming," Luke teased.

Lorelai kissed Luke on the forehead. "You're a great dad, you know," she added.

Luke smiled. "You think so?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I mean, you know how to treat a girl, that's for sure, and now you've got four of us to deal with. Doesn't that thought make you want to… I don't know, dance in the streets with sheer joy? She's just like her mommy."

"I don't dance in public."

"I seem to recall a time where you proved otherwise," Lorelai pointed out.

"I don't just up and do a jig in the middle of the town square!"

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, you got me on that one, although the image is completely entertaining in and of itself. What time do visiting hours start?"

Luke checked his watch. "Eight."

"I should get some real sleep if I want to survive the endless line of visitors we're going to get, and you should, too, mister," Lorelai said, poking Luke in the shoulder with every syllable.

Luke brushed Lorelai's suggestion off. "I'm not tired," he said, taking Leah again.

Lorelai closed her eyes. "That's fine. Goodnight, Daddy," she said.

"Night."


	3. The Diner's New Waitress

Leah sat at the stool, eating her ice cream. She watched as her father took orders and went back into the kitchen to make them, emerging with a plate of food. For some reason, the concept fascinated her. She'd seen him cook at home hundreds of times, lending a hand occasionally, but today, Leah was totally engrossed in what her dad did for a job. Her big blue eyes followed him as he went from table to table, pouring coffee and clearing plates. She took a big bite of her sundae and tilted her head in deep thought.

"Daddy?"

Luke turned around. "Yeah?"

"Can I help?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face.

Luke stopped what he was doing. "Huh?"

"I want to help you. I wanna bring people their food. And you won't even have to pay me," Leah offered.

He sighed as he began to wipe down the counter. "I don't know, Leah. A lot of those plates are really heavy and some of them are really hot. What would happen if you dropped one of them? I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Leah shook her head. "I won't drop them. I promise, and I won't carry the hot stuff."

"Most of the stuff is hot, Leah, then what would you carry?" he asked.

She shrugged, her brown curls bouncing with the movement of her shoulders. "Please, Daddy? I swear, I'll be really, really, really, really, really, really…" Leah stopped to take a deep breath. "Really, really…"

"All right, all right, come back here," Luke said, helping his daughter off of the stool. "Now bring this over to Kirk, and use both hands," he said, handing her a plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it.

Leah walked over to Kirk, holding the plate in front of her as if it were a sacred artifact. "Here you go, Kirk!" she said cheerfully.

"Luke, you can't change servers in the middle of a meal. That's confusing, and it could result in possible meal mix-ups," Kirk objected.

Luke walked over to Kirk's table. "Kirk, let Leah be your waitress, okay? You don't have to tip her, just let her do what she wants to do."

"But, Luke, what happens if someone else in the diner ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with grape jelly? Mine's with strawberry jelly, what if Leah can't tell the difference?" Kirk protested, getting extremely flustered.

Leah craned her neck to look up at Luke, worried her newfound glory would be taken away at an instant. Did she make a mistake already? She thought this was going to be an easy job.

"Kirk. Look. Your sandwich has strawberry jelly. I specifically told Leah to bring you this particular sandwich because I made it for you to consume, not for any other knucklehead over the age of ten who eats peanut butter and jelly for dinner every night. Now, Leah will be your server, or you will not be served, understood?" Luke barked.

Leah tried to hold back her giggles. She loved it when her father told Kirk off. He deserved it, after all, he was quite annoying. He followed Luke behind the counter again and stood out of the way, waiting for her next job. She took a look around the diner, and watched as everyone looked through their menus or ate. She caught sight of Miss Patty, who motioned for her to come to the table. Leah obliged.

"Hi, Miss Patty!" Leah said enthusiastically. "I'm a waitress now."

Miss Patty nodded. "Yes, sweetheart, I see. Can you tell your father that I'd like to order a Caesar salad, please?"

Leah smiled. "Coming right up!" she said, running back to the counter. "Daddy? Miss Patty wants a… uh…" Leah paused for a moment, trying to remember what Miss Patty had ordered. "Caesar salad."

"Okay, Leah. Don't run, please, or else you're going to get hurt, and you'll be out of commission," Luke instructed.

Leah gave Luke a confused look. "I'd be what?"

Luke shook his head. "Never mind. Just don't run."

She stood in front of the counter, watching to see if anyone else needed help. She felt so important, so special, so grown up to be working in the diner with her father. She stuck close to Luke to ensure that Miss Patty's salad was brought to her, and begged to bring Babette her cheeseburger. After being tipped under-the-table by virtually everyone she helped, and bringing meals to quite a few customers, her legs started to get a little tired.

"You taking your fifteen minute break?" Luke asked.

Leah nodded. "This is hard work. I didn't know that," she said incredulously.

"Well, you can take the rest of the day off. Mommy's going to show up any minute now, and she'll take you home. What's that in your pocket?" Luke asked.

Leah pulled out a handful of wadded up bills from her pocket. "Tips!" she squealed cheerfully. "I bet I have a bazillion dollars here," she said, her eyes widening at exactly how much money she had earned.

"I don't think it's quite that much, but we'll count it up," Luke offered. He sorted (and flattened) the bills and began to count out loud. "Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven. That's twenty-seven dollars, Leah."

Leah's jaw dropped in amazement. "It's even more than I thought!" she gasped in disbelief.

Luke was debating how much to let Leah keep as the bells rang and Lorelai entered. "Whoa, there, where'd you get all those ones? You running another, dirtier establishment that I'm not aware of?" Lorelai said, winking to Luke suggestively.

"Jeez, Lorelai! No! Leah was helping me out today, and this was her tip money," Luke answered.

Lorelai counted the money. "Wow, you've got yourself a small fortune, Ms. Rockefeller," Lorelai said, pulling her daughter onto her lap. "How much are we keeping, and how much are we saving?"

Leah smiled. "I think I should keep all of it," she teased.

"Okay, then, let me rephrase that. How much are we spending, and how much are we saving?" Lorelai asked. "I think ten dollars is plenty to spend, and then next time we go to see Rory, you'll have that money to buy whatever you want while we're there. How's that?"

"All right. Do I get to feed Herman?" Leah asked.

"Who's Herman?" Luke asked, confused.

Lorelai gave Luke a "You should know" look. "Herman is her piggy, Luke. Herman eats the money, he's a very hungry piggy. And then, when Leah's ready for a shopping spree, Herman just…"

Luke held up his hand. "If you're about to use any words related to the digestive system, I suggest that you stop right now."

"Darn. You make life no fun," Lorelai pouted. "Come on, Leah, show Daddy how un-fun he's being," she said, prompting her daughter to pout with her.

"Goodbye, Lorelai," Luke said, exasperated already.

"So soon? I was thinking of having that delightful brunette waitress serve me my food," Lorelai said, opening a menu.

"She can serve you at home," Luke insisted.

Lorelai sighed. "Fine. Take your money, Leah, and let's go feed Herman."

Leah gathered her money and shoved it into her pocket again. "Bye, Daddy," she said, leaning over the counter to give him a kiss.

"Bye, princess," Luke replied.

Lorelai leaned over the counter for a kiss, and when Luke passed by her, she stood up straight and put her hand on her hip. "All right, mister, you can't get away with that," she said. "I think…"

Luke interrupted her with a kiss in front of the counter.

"That's better," Lorelai smiled. "Come on, Madame waitress, we're going to have to teach you to skate so that next time Daddy lets you help it will be even more fun!"

Luke watched as his wife and daughter walked out the door, completely blocking Lorelai's last comment from entering his memory.


	4. Barbie Buying

Luke stood outside the toy store. How hard was it to buy a toy for Leah? Lorelai had gone crazy already for her birthday, buying her a tea set, a play kitchen (so she could be like her daddy), and so many other assorted gifts she had been picking out since her last birthday. But Luke decided that some of the gifts Lorelai had bought… okay, all of the gifts she had bought, would be from Lorelai's heart. Yes, Luke obviously went with her to pick out these things, but he felt like he needed to pick something out for Leah himself.

He opened the door and walked in. The remote control car that was being driven around the store nearly tripped him as he tried to make his way around all the display toys. "Ah, jeez," he muttered, regaining his balance before he knocked over all of the action figures behind him.

"Oh, sorry, Luke," Kirk said. "I was testing the new merchandise. Can I help you with something?"

Luke shook his head. "Uh, no thanks, Kirk. Not right now."

"Because I have excellent knowledge of all of the toys in this entire store. We carry only the most popular, and the best toys," Kirk offered.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine, Kirk, I'm looking for a gift for Leah," he consented.

Kirk stopped the car. "Excellent. Are you looking for something specific?"

"Uh… well, yeah, I was thinking of a Barbie doll," he said.

"Very popular with little girls in her age group. Right this way."

Luke followed Kirk to the aisle he had previously avoided, unless he was with Lorelai. The overwhelming amount of the color pink was hurting his eyes, but he tried to stay focused. He looked at all of the different Barbie dolls in the aisle, stretching all the way from the floor to the highest shelf. This was going to be a difficult choice. They all looked the same to him, but he knew there was some sort of distinguishing factor--- he just had to find out what it was.

"These are our biggest sellers. They're called Bratz. B-R-A-T-Z. Apparently the "z" added to the end makes them more hip. They are very in demand right now," Kirk blabbed.

Luke took one look at the dolls and shook his head. He'd at least SEEN a Barbie doll before, and he immediately knew that this was not what he was looking for. "Uh, Kirk, I don't think these dolls are what I was looking for. They're… kind of scary looking. Anything a little more… normal?"

Kirk shrugged. "What do you mean? Apparently the appeal of these dolls is that they're like the girls-next-door type."

Luke shuddered at the sight of the dolls. "I got it from here, thanks," Luke said.

"Are you sure? Because if you need an explanation on the difference between this doll, and this doll, and these…"

Luke held up his hand. "Kirk? I can take it from here," he insisted. Luke looked at each doll, attempting to figure out which one Leah would like the best. Luke hadn't gotten through one row when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hey, sugah, are ya birthday shoppin'?" Babette questioned.

Luke jumped. He didn't expect Babette to be standing behind him while he was buying the Barbie. "Uh, yeah, Babette, I'm getting a present for Leah."

"Oh, what a doll! No pun intended, o' course. Which one were ya thinkin' of gettin' her? There's just so many!"

This was getting obnoxious for Luke. He had hoped to take a quick trip, in and out of the store, without interruption, or everyone trying to help him out. Getting input from absolutely everyone in town was defeating the entire purpose of the outing. But in Stars Hollow, there was no such thing as a quick trip, except, as Luke thought, to the insane asylum.

"I'm not sure, Babette, but I'm thinking about it," Luke said.

Babette nodded. "All right, sugah, I'll leave you alone, this can get awfully tense, ya know."

"Thanks, Babette," Luke sighed.

He had just finished another row when he came across a section with normal looking Barbies. These were more as he remembered Barbies to look like. And still the choices were endless. There were blonde Barbies, brunette barbies, and Barbies with fancy dresses. Luke couldn't decide. Getting inside his four, soon to be five-year-old's mind was proving difficult.

He picked up the blonde doll with the poofy pink dress. He knew that this particular doll was sure to be a hit, as Leah owned a dress very similar to that one. But, Luke quickly questioned his choice. Maybe Leah would prefer her first Barbie to have brown hair, like Leah did. He held both boxes in his hands, comparing and scrutinizing everything about them.

Luke sighed. This wasn't as simple as he had anticipated it to be. He took both the boxes and walked up to the counter. Buying both would easily solve the dilemma of the Barbie shopping trip.

"Just these? Would you like them gift-wrapped?" Kirk asked.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, sure," he said, reaching for his wallet.

Kirk began to meticulously wrap each doll in bright pink paper, eyeing Luke as he worked. "It's awfully last minute for you to be picking up these, don't you think?" Kirk questioned.

Luke shrugged. "I'd been thinking about it for awhile."

"So you're a procrastinator? I never knew that about you, Luke."

"Kirk," Luke said, shaking his head, "please just wrap the dolls, slide my card, watch me sign it, and send me on my way. Is that possible?"

Kirk's eyes grew wider. "You didn't add me asking for your card, or telling you to have a pleasant day. Not even the total?"

"Kirk," Luke hissed, "just wrap the dolls, scan the card, watch me sign, then watch me leave? Is that too hard to understand?"

"No, I don't suppose it is," Kirk said. "But if you want me to be literal about it…"

"Wrap quickly, please, Kirk," Luke said, trying his hardest to restrain his frustration.

Kirk wrapped the gifts and did as he was told. Luke walked back home in the snow to the house and quickly placed the gifts in the closet. What little space he had on his side was being encroached upon by the menagerie of gifts already bought and wrapped. As he attempted to shut the closet without any gift spillage, Lorelai walked up the stairs.

"Oh, Luuuke!" she called, "are you home, stud muffin?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "In the bedroom," he called.

"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaimed. "What brings you to the closet? This could turn into a dirty," she snickered.

Luke took off his hat and scratched his forehead. "I was just adding to Leah's birthday gifts," Luke said, motioning toward the closet. "I just came back from the toy store."

Lorelai's eyes widened as she made her way to the closet. She picked up the two identically wrapped boxes and shook them.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, exasperated already.

Lorelai put the boxes down. "Attempting to make maraca sounds!" she teased. "Or trying to figure out what's in the boxes."

"You'll see tomorrow. These are from me," he stated plainly, heading toward the bathroom.

Lorelai followed Luke, pouting. "But I'm the Queen of Impatience, and I don't mean the flower."

"Tomorrow," Luke whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

The next morning was slightly hectic. Birthdays were always a big deal in Lorelai's life, and this was no different. Leah's arts and crafts birthday party went off without a hitch, despite the open paints and Elmer's glue. After the guests left, the tarps on the floor were removed, and Paul Anka was allowed out from the bedroom, Lorelai brought the family gifts out of the closet. She arranged them perfectly on and around the table as Leah watched in awe.

When all the presents were in plain view, Lorelai poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Luke. "All right, Leah," she said, "have at it!"

Leah carefully examined each package, picking it up to feel how heavy it was, and shaking it to hear if it had loose pieces inside. After an intense screening process, she chose Luke's gift first.

"That's special from me, your mom didn't quite know about that one," Luke said.

Leah wasted no time tearing open the paper, and her smile grew wider as she pulled the Barbie out of the paper. "A Barbie!" she shrieked, hugging the box immediately. "Thank you, Daddy!"

Lorelai turned to Luke, vaguely recalling the night her father was in the hospital. "A Barbie," she repeated softly, reaching for Luke's hand.

Luke shrugged. "I knew she'd like it. And she didn't have one, so I decided that was my own personal gift to her," he pointed out.

"You got our daughter a Barbie," Lorelai said for the umpteenth time, almost attempting to process it herself. "You went into the store, picked it out, paid for it, and gave it to her. You bought her a Barbie."

"It's not some sort of world record or anything," Luke said. "And I don't leap tall buildings."

Lorelai shook her head. "That doesn't matter. You're her hero regardless. Look at her, she's trying to rip that doll out of her box as we speak."

Luke shrugged. "I remembered the Barbie conversation," he said, reaching over to assist Leah in removing the doll from its box.


	5. Princess in Training

Leah poked her head out the door and looked at her two big sisters sitting on the porch steps, giggling and eating ice cream. Staring at them in awe, she took a few steps out the front door, partially trying to be sneaky, partially trying to be noticed. When Rory heard footsteps, she turned around.

"Hey, Leah, come sit with us!" Rory said, making room for a third person to sit.

It was exactly what Leah had hoped she'd say. She darted over to Rory and April and squeezed herself between them. She felt so grown-up, so important. Her big sisters were including her in their lives, and Leah was absolutely thrilled.

"How are you?" Rory asked.

Leah nodded. "Good."

"Being good to Mommy and Daddy?"

Smiling, Leah nodded. "Yes, I am."

"We knew you were," April added.

Leah had so many things she wanted to ask Rory and April. She knew that they'd be coming to visit, and she'd thought about all the things she could talk to them about. Big sister stuff, like boys and clothes and makeup. She'd always wanted a makeover… maybe she'd try and convince them.

"I heard you got a part in the play, Leah. Which part did you get?" Rory asked. "April and I were wondering when you were going to tell us about this."

April nodded. "Yeah, when can we get your autograph? And will you remember us when you're famous?" she teased.

Leah stood up. "I'm a TREE! But I'm not a tree that's kind of ugly, I'm an APPLE TREE! And I have two lines!"

Rory nodded. "Try 'em out on us, see how they go."

As Leah prepared to practice her lines, Luke's old green truck pulled into the driveway. Leah's head turned toward the sound, and she grinned as he stepped out of the truck. Completely ignoring Rory and April, she ran to the truck. "Hi, Daddy!" she said.

Luke crouched down to her level. "Hey, how are ya?" he asked, giving Leah a high five.

"I'm fabulous," she said.

Luke shook his head. "Fabulous? Did April teach you that one?" 

Leah nodded. "It's a good word."

Luke picked Leah up and walked toward the house. "It is, is it?"

Rory and April stood up from the steps to greet Luke. Luke put Leah down and she promptly attached to his leg. He looked down at her, smiling, and turned his attention to Rory and April.

"She giving you a hard time?" he asked.

April rolled her eyes. "Is that possible? She's too sweet."

"She was about to practice her lines from the play for us. We've been kept in suspense for so long," Rory said, giving Luke a hug.

Luke shook his head. "I know her lines better than she does. She still hasn't comprehended them yet and she practices them about 400 times a day."

Leah let go of Luke and stood by the front stairs. She took a deep breath, determined to get her lines correct. She straightened up, and with a smile, delivered her lines perfectly. "I am an apple tree. I have apples that are red, yellow, and green!"

Rory and April applauded as Leah took a bow, then jumped up and down, cheering. "I got my lines, see? Daddy, I did it!"

"You got them right, good job, Leah. I'm going inside to say hi to your mom, okay?" Luke asked, opening the front door and going inside.

When Luke went inside, Leah turned her attention to her big sisters. She sat on the step again, thinking about the makeover she'd gotten in her head earlier that day. Maybe Rory and April would give in. She stood up, flashing a smile, and looked at her sisters. "Can I have a makeover?" she asked.

Rory looked at April. "She's gotta do a lot more convincing than that, don't you think?"

"She's got the pouting ability, why not use it?" April added. "Leah, if you want us to give you a makeover, you're going to have to make it sound really, really good to us."

Leah remembered the lesson she'd gotten from Lorelai a few weeks ago. She walked up the stairs and stood behind Rory, giving her a hug from behind. "Could I please, pretty please, have a makeover? I would look so beautiful."

Rory shook her head, already cracking to her little sister. "Did Mommy teach you that?" Rory asked, recognizing the technique right away.

Leah nodded. "Please?"

Rory turned to April once again. "If Luke sees her with makeup on, he's going to send in the dogs."

"The dogs?" Leah asked.

April nodded. "You're right, he won't be very happy. Uh, let's see…" she said, trailing off in thought.

"Remember those Lip Smackers Babette got you for your birthday?" Rory suggested.

Leah nodded. "Yeah."

"Go get those, and your box of hair clips and stuff," Rory said.

Leah ran inside and up the stairs, nearly knocking Lorelai over in the process. "Whoa, whoa, sweets, is it wedding dress sale day, because from the way you were running, it very well could have been," Lorelai said.

"I have to get my lip gloss and my hair stuff. Rory and April are giving me a makeover!" Leah said with a smile.

Lorelai shook her head. "Just don't trip. If your face is all scraped, your makeover will be completely useless."

Leah nodded, looking for the lip gloss, as Luke came up behind Lorelai. "Makeover?" he asked, confused.

Lorelai shook her head, almost as if to tell Luke it was no big deal. "A new hairstyle and some lip gloss. She's not Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman," okay?"

Luke consented. "Fine."

Leah brought the supplies downstairs and out to the front steps. "So what were you guys saying about the pout?"

"Has Mom taught you the pout yet?" Rory asked.

When Leah shook her head, Rory sighed. "Oh, the work we have to do. Your dad melts at the pout. You could probably get almost anything… I say almost for a reason… with the pout."

"A pony?" Leah asked.

April brushed out Leah's curly brown hair. "Maybe not a pony, but a trip to the petting zoo to ride the pony," she said.

"All right, I need to learn this, and fast," Leah insisted.

Lorelai and Luke watched the girls from the chuppah. "They're corrupting her!" Luke panicked.

Taking Luke's hand, Lorelai shook her head. "Nah. You just have to be stronger. Toughen up, be a man, no crying in baseball."

Luke sighed. "Fine. But I'm not getting her a pony or anything outrageous like that."

Lorelai nodded. "Agreed."


	6. Halloween Queen

"Leah, you're moving around like you've got ants in your pants, hold still so I can get your wings on," Lorelai pleaded.

Leah was anxious. It was Halloween, and according to her brand new pink watch, it was precisely one minute past four, when trick-or-treating hours were to start. She knew she'd learned to tell time for a reason. Since the previous week when she'd informed Emily that Luke and Lorelai were one minute late to Friday Night Dinner, she'd been obsessed with checking the time.

And the time had come to trick-or-treat. Her purple fairy dress with her pretty pink sparkly wings was sure to be the best costume in Stars Hollow. Lorelai had spent weeks perfecting it for her daughter, and Leah was getting ready to show it off.

"Mommy, are you almost done?" she asked.

Lorelai sighed. "Yes, I'm almost done. I just have to get your wings straight and then Daddy and I can take you out to get candy, okay?"

Leah smiled at the thought. She looked down at her pink ballet flats Rory had gotten her especially for the costume, envisioning piles of candy to be organized when she got back to the house. All the Reese's would go in one pile, the Milky Way bars in another… this was going to be the best Halloween ever.

"I still don't know how you convinced me to take her Trick-or-Treating," Luke groaned.

Lorelai giggled as she pinned Leah's costume. "I didn't, she did. But if you're giving me the credit, I am the Halloween Queen."

"The Halloween Queen?" Leah asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Yes. I always make my own costumes, have the best decorations, and give out the best candy! Someday you'll be the Halloween Queen."

Leah was in shock. Her mom was the Halloween Queen of Stars Hollow. That would make her the Halloween Princess… and Luke the king! She giggled to herself, somehow not convinced that Luke would easily accept that title and responsibility. She looked down at her shoes, thinking about going to Trick-or-Treat two important people like her mom and dad.

"All right, I have to change, and we'll be on our way," Lorelai said, running upstairs.

Luke sat down on the couch and rolled his eyes. "If she doesn't come down by 5:15, I'm taking you out myself," he told Leah.

Leah glanced at her watch. Lorelai had ten minutes to get dressed. She started the mental countdown. She sat down next to Luke, her legs dangling off the side of the couch, and turned toward her dad.

"What did you dress up as for Halloween when you were little?" she asked.

Luke shrugged. "I think I was boring stuff. I only went Trick-or-Treating for a few years."

Leah nodded. "Oh. What were you when you were my age?"

"Well, I don't really remember. I might have been a baseball player," Luke recalled.

She giggled. "Did you have a glove?"

Luke nodded. "I did, but I took it off halfway through the night because I couldn't carry my candy bag."

"You could have had people put candy in your glove," Leah suggested.

He placed Leah on his lap. "True, but would you only want a handful of candy, or that whole pillowcase full?"

Leah's eyes lit up. "I want to fill the whole thing!"

"Then a baseball glove wouldn't give you much room, would it?" he asked.

Just as Leah began the thirty second countdown, Lorelai came down in all black with braids in her hair. Leah giggled. "Mommy, you look silly."

"What the heck are you supposed to be?" Luke asked with a roll of the eyes, grabbing his keys.

Lorelai huffed. "Wednesday Adams, hello! Seriously, Luke, if it wasn't Star Trek or Star Wars, or baseball, you didn't even care, did you?"

"That's not all I watched," Luke protested.

Lorelai giggled. "Oh, right, I forgot about Gunsmoke and Bonanza and A-Team. All those manly shows," she said, deepening her voice on the word "manly."

Luke opened the door and ushered Leah and Lorelai outside. Leah stood at the end of the grass, looking at both sides of the street. "Where do I go first?" she asked herself, eyeing each house.

"Let's go to Babette first, she's been dying to see your costume," Lorelai insisted.

Leah quickly ran up to Babette and Morey's house and rang the doorbell. Morey, dressed as Frankenstein, answered the door. "Trick-or-Treat!" Leah squealed.

Babette came running to the door. "Oh, Leah, doll, you look adorable!" Babette shrieked. "You're our first Trick-or-Treater tonight, so you get to take lots of extra candy. And Lorelai, you look fantastic!"

Lorelai curtsied. "Thanks, Babette, you don't look so bad yourself, Miss Bride of Frankenstein!"

"Well, Morey was so stuck on Frankenstein, I figured I'd wanna be involved, too. Leah, two pieces of candy? C'mon, ya gotta take a few more than that!" Babette urged.

Leah gave a smile and grabbed a handful of candy, dropping it into her bag. "Thanks, Babette!" she said.

"Atta girl, dollface. Have fun, get lots of good candy!" Babette said, waving as Leah skipped off to be with Luke and Lorelai once again.

Luke shot Lorelai a glare. "Jeez, how much candy did Babette give her?"

Lorelai patted Luke's arm. "Luke, really, she most likely won't eat it all, and Babette likes Leah. Let her get spoiled once in awhile."

Lorelai and Luke stood back, letting Leah have her own Halloween agenda. When Leah rang Mrs. Kim's doorbell, though, Luke couldn't help but laugh. "She's going to be sorry she rang that doorbell," he said, nudging Lorelai.

Lorelai shrugged. "She's a grandmother now, Luke, you gotta give her a chance. See if she softened up a little."

Mrs. Kim opened the door. "Trick-or-Treat!" Leah said.

"Leah, you look very nice," Mrs. Kim said in a serious tone. She reached for a bag she had pre-made and a pamphlet and dropped them into Leah's pillowcase.

"Thank you," Leah said, confused as to why she wasn't getting candy. She walked up to Luke and Lorelai opening her bag.

Lorelai took the pillowcase from Leah. "I'll get these spinach puffs out of your bag," she said. "Do you have the pamphlet?"

Leah looked at the pamphlet in her hand and began to read it. "The dev… devil…" she started to sound out.

Lorelai took the pamphlet and shoved it into her own pocket. "That's grown up stuff, sweetie. Why don't you go say hi to Miss Patty?"

Leah took off running for the dance studio while Lorelai searched for a trash can. "Fine, fine, you were right," Lorelai said to Luke, throwing away Mrs. Kim's 'goodies.'

As Leah got candy from Miss Patty, Lorelai hooked her arm in Luke's. "Having a good time?" she asked.

Luke shrugged. "If she's happy, I'm happy."

"She's getting so grown up. She's going to be in first grade next year," Lorelai replied.

"I don't want to talk about it," Luke replied.

She smiled. "You like that she's your little princess, don't you?"

"I just… don't want her to get too big too fast," Luke replied.

As Taylor dropped a toothbrush and toothpaste in Leah's bag, and she walked back to her parents, looking sad that she hadn't gotten candy, Lorelai turned to Luke. "I don't, either," she said.


	7. Snow Angels

Leah ran in through the door of the house, ripping off her snow boots and her jacket on her way. Luke was absolutely clueless as to why she was so excited. He'd asked, but Leah had insisted on telling Lorelai first. No matter how many times he asked, she kept her secret, sitting in silence (minus the giggling) the entire ride home from school. Leaving the discarded clothing items on the floor, Leah ran through the house looking for Lorelai.

"Mommy?" Leah shouted.

Luke walked out the front door and shook off his daughter's wet snow boots, trying to get rid of any clumps of snow that may have been on them. "Leah, your Mom's probably still at work. Why don't I make you some hot chocolate, and then you can tell me what you learned in school that you're so eager to share?" he asked, not afraid to bribe Leah.

Leah sighed. "Can I have coffee instead?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "I can make you have orange juice," he deadpanned.

"Hot chocolate with a marshmallow, please," Leah agreed, grinning.

As Luke walked into the kitchen, starting to make the hot chocolate, he contemplated exactly how much Leah was growing up to be just like her mother. She was just starting kindergarten, but it seemed like Leah learned something to make her seem older all the time. He shook his head at her ability to negotiate, clearly a Gilmore trait. And her enthusiasm was infectious, not unlike Lorelai. The similarities became more and more apparent every day.

"So, what did you learn today that you're so excited about? Math? Science?" Luke asked, curious to know the secret lesson that Leah wanted to tell Lorelai about so badly.

Leah smiled. "No, silly, Math is boring! We learned about SNOW. And we had to learn all about the clouds and how they dump snow on the ground when it's cold. I loved it, Daddy! Then, Mrs. Wilson taught us a poem to go with our lesson! I was going to wait for Mommy, but do you want to hear it? It's a good poem!"

Luke handed Leah the mug of hot chocolate. "Don't drink it yet, it's too hot," Luke warned.

"Okay, I won't. So do you want to hear the poem now? It's a really, really great poem!" Leah pressed.

"I'm listening," Luke said, pulling up a chair at the kitchen table.

Leah cleared her throat. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and began to recite the poem. "I made myself a snowball, as perfect as could be. I thought I'd keep it as a pet, and let it sleep with me. I made it some pajamas, and a pillow for its head, then last night it ran away, but first it wet the bed!"

Luke shook his head and let out a slight chuckle. "The things you come home with. Your mom's going to love that one."

"Can I have a snowball as a pet?" Leah asked. "I'd name him Snowy. Or I'd get Mommy to help me think of a way better name than Snowy."

"You have Paul Anka, isn't that enough?"

Leah shook her head. "I want to keep a snowball in the freezer. Please?"

"What would you want to keep a snowball in the freezer for?"

"Because that's where you keep cold things. And I was thinking that I could open the freezer door, and say hi to it, and then close it and know it's in there, sleeping. It would be so cool! Please?" Leah begged, her lower lip starting to protrude.

Luke sighed. The pout always did him in. He would have said 'yes' right away, but the only thing he could think of was her reaction to the melting of the snowball. He could picture her bursting into tears, heartbroken over the loss of her friend made of frozen water. He debated whether or not to explain the concept of melting and the real possibility of the snowball not making it in the freezer for long at all. But Lorelai walked in the door, saving the day, just as he began to speak.

"Mommy! It's snowing!" Leah shrieked.

Lorelai grinned. "I know, sweets, it's awesome, isn't it?" she asked, joining her family at the kitchen table. "Want to go make a snowman?"

Leah nodded. "Yeah! Can we bring a snowball and put it into the freezer, Mommy?"

"A snowball?" Lorelai asked, looking at Luke.

"She wants a pet snowball, and she asked me, but I figured I'd wait for you to get home before I said yes or no. You know more about how to… take care of a snowball than I do," Luke reasoned with a wink.

Lorelai nodded in understanding, taking off her coat and draping it over the chair. She sat down and turned her attention to Leah. "Well, sweets, snowballs live outside. Bringing a snowball inside may upset him or her. We should probably not take them out of their home. But they've invited us over, so do you want to come outside and make some snow angels and a snowman?" Lorelai asked.

Leah nodded. "Okay, I'll leave the snowballs outside. I'm gonna go get my coat!" she said, running to the living room once again.

"Snowballs live outside, huh?" Luke asked.

Lorelai gasped. "Jeez, Luke, what else was I supposed to say? Due to a little concept called temperature, your snowball wouldn't last five seconds inside?"

He wrapped her into a hug. "It's better than I could have done, that's for sure. I was debating what to tell her."

"Well, you're lucky I walked in at the right time, then, aren't you?" Lorelai asked.

"Mommy! It's snowing harder!" Leah shrieked as she took a look out the window.

Luke ushered Lorelai into the living room. "She's going to go out there all on her own if you don't go with her," he insisted.

Lorelai shook her head. "You're coming with me. You know why?"

"I can't possibly imagine," Luke said, with a roll of his eyes.

"Leah, hey, guess what? Daddy's coming outside, too!" Lorelai said, zipping up Leah's coat.

Leah gasped. "No way! We can make a really good snowman this time!" she said, running out into the front yard.

As Lorelai grabbed her scarf and put it on, Leah plopped herself down in the snow and began to make a snow angel. Lorelai giggled. "Yeah, there you go, that's my snow angel!"

"Remind me again why you dragged me out here?" Luke asked, following Lorelai outside.

Lorelai moved closer to Luke. "Eskimo kisses make much more sense in the snow!" she whispered, leaning in and rubbing her cold nose against his.

"You're crazy," Luke said, trying his hardest to pretend to be annoyed.

"Oh, you love it. I bet you anything that you'll be roped into helping with this snowman in T minus three seconds," Lorelai teased, moving closer to Luke to get warm.

"Daddy, come help us make a snowman!" Leah insisted.

Luke looked at Lorelai, who held up one finger on her left hand, and formed an "o" shape with her right. "Lorelai and Leah one, Luke zero. Too bad you're so terrible at this game," she said with a wink.

"Jeez," Luke muttered, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Well, we need someone to get us started! A big, strong, handsome man like yourself to make the bottom of the snowman. Then we can help."

Luke rolled his eyes. "So you watch while I do the hardest part?"

"Yup. And then you put the middle and the head on, so if they fall, we blame you!" Lorelai teased, walking across the yard to where Leah was sitting.

He crouched down and began to pack the snow into a big snowball he could roll around the yard, hoping to live up to his wife and daughter's snowman making standards. He watched the two of them as they attempted to create a snow fort. As annoyed as he pretended to be, he wouldn't have it any other way. As long as the Snow Angels were happy, he was happy, too.


	8. Surprise!

**A/N: I apologize for the delay in the updating of this story. I am a very indecisive person and I couldn't choose between two ideas I had for this story. I appreciate everyone's patience, and I've finally come up with a decision. Read on.**

Luke opened the door for Leah, who threw her backpack down by the door and ran to greet Paul Anka. Paul Anka cowered as Leah came near him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his ear.

"Don't torture the dog, he may hide your dolls in your Mom's shoe rack again," Luke warned.

"Why's his name Paul Anka, Daddy?"

Luke took off his jacket. "Because your mother's a crazy person."

"He doesn't look like a Paul Anka," she said, thinking for a moment. "He looks like a Fred."

"Well, that wouldn't work, see, because then your mother would want to get another dog that's just as insane as Paul Anka, to name him Barney Rubble. Then we'd have to get the rest of the crazy animals out there and name them according to that same cartoon," Luke explained.

Leah smiled, running to the door to get her backpack. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"You're awfully chatty today, more so than usual," Luke said, walking into the kitchen. He poured Leah a glass of milk and gave her a chocolate chip cookie.

He sat down next to Leah at the table as she ate her cookie. Reaching over into her backpack, he pulled out Leah's homework sheet. "All right, kid, let's see what you have to do tonight. Read three pages of any book?" he asked, turning to Leah.

"I'm going to read the whole book," Leah said, shrugging. "I think Frog and Toad is the one I'm going to try tonight. And only three pages of the book wouldn't be very fun," she insisted, shoving the rest of the cookie in her mouth.

Luke smiled. Leah was a really smart kid, and a really sweet kid. He hated how fast she was growing up. She was reading before the majority of her kindergarten class, and she had already been through her first boyfriend and breakup.

"Hey, Daddy?"

Luke turned to face Leah. "Yeah?"

She smiled. "I want to help you cook dinner tonight."

He sighed. "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea."

Leah shook her head, and her dark curls bounced as she did so. "I really want to help. Please? I'm a big girl now, so that means I get to make dinner."

"According to?" Luke asked.

She shrugged. "Me," she teased.

Luke noticed more and more of Lorelai in her every day. He sighed, realizing that with the carbon copy of Lorelai that Leah was becoming, he wouldn't be able to say 'no' as easily anymore. He scooped her up from the chair she was sitting in and put her down in front of the refrigerator, shaking his head as she giggled wildly. "All right. I think you can help me with tonight's dinner. Mommy mentioned that she wanted pizza, so we're going to make pizza."

"Where's the phone?" Leah asked.

"You don't need the phone to make pizza," Luke said.

Leah shrugged. "That's how Mommy makes it," she replied.

Luke chuckled, pulling a chair from the table close to the counter. "Your Mom's a nut. Now, I'm going to need you to do two things for me. One, when you're standing on the chair, you don't do any sort of dancing, wiggling, or jumping."

"Okay," Leah agreed.

"Two, you don't touch anything until I tell you to," Luke continued.

"Got it," Leah confirmed.

Luke got all of the ingredients together to make the pizza and spread them out on the counter. After rolling the dough and preparing it to be 'decorated' as quickly as possible to appease a very impatient Leah, he heard the door open.

"Anybody home?" Lorelai called from the foyer.

"Mommy, we're making pizza," Leah shouted back, strategically placing the pepperonis on the dough.

Lorelai walked into the kitchen, nodding. "I see that. Just don't subject yourself to being the next contestant on 'Hell's Kitchen' to be mercilessly mocked by Chef Ramsay," she teased, kissing Leah on the head and turning her attention to Luke. "Hey," she said softly. "We need to… talk later."

Luke nodded, sprinkling the last of the cheese onto the pizza. "You finished here, Leah?"

"It's prettier than Kirk playing 'Pretty Pretty Princess'," Leah said, admiring her work. "How long's it going to take to make?"

Helping Leah off the chair, and putting the pizza into the oven, Luke looked at his watch. "It will be ready in a half hour. One episode of 'Dora the Explorer'," he clarified.

"That's a long time," Leah said, sitting on Lorelai's lap.

Lorelai giggled, holding her full mug of coffee out as far as she could. "Whoa, sweets, watch the coffee, it's crucial to Mommy's survival."

Luke watched as Leah told Lorelai all about her interesting day, which involved some sort of finger painting incident and a box of animal crackers with headless animals. Luke loved sitting back and watching the two of them chat. He loved that Lorelai and Rory were close, and knew that Lorelai and April loved their female bonding time, but he was also glad to see that Lorelai and Leah were just as close.

The oven timer sounded and in true Gilmore fashion, Leah and Lorelai turned their attention to the food. Luke pulled the pizza out of the oven, cutting it into slices and placing three to start on Lorelai's plate.

"You're shorting me, I know it," Lorelai teased, pointing to Luke. "Three pieces? You think that's going to be satisfactory?"

"Another one's going in," Luke said, motioning to the pizza on the counter.

Lorelai smiled. "I love pizza," she said, accepting the plate Luke gave her. "I want to marry it. Oops. I'm already married."

"Thank god for that," Luke mumbled.

When dinner was finally over and Leah was tucked safely in bed, Luke walked back downstairs. Lorelai patted the spot next to her on the couch and snuggled close to Luke as he sat down.

"Hey, Burger Boy," she said.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, you're crazier than I thought you were."

"Fine, fine, I'll stop with the nicknames for now, Snuggle Bunny," she teased.

"You will, really?" Luke asked.

Lorelai sat up. "Okay, time for a serious conversation."

"Is this about the parent teacher conference you had today with Leah's teacher?"

She shook her head. "No, but the report on that subject is good. Leah's an angel and a breath of fresh air in a classroom full of smog."

Luke nodded. "I'm surprised they didn't mention her chattiness in class."

"Apparently she knows when to hold back, totally unlike me. I was the one with the notes home, begging my parents to have someone design me a muzzle," Lorelai teased.

He reached over and brushed some hair out of Lorelai's face. "Something else you want to add? You're going on a tangent now."

Lorelai nodded. "Uh, yeah. I'm pregnant again."

Luke stared at Lorelai for a moment, then laughed. "You're not serious."

"I kid you not," Lorelai said, smiling.

"Seriously?"

"Completely and totally," Lorelai replied.

Luke leaned in and kissed Lorelai. He pulled back and rubbed his eyes. "Another kid?"

"Surprise!" she teased.

"That's the understatement of the year," Luke said, wrapping his arm around her. "I'm just… how did this happen? Not like it's a bad thing, because, it's not… I just thought that we…"

"Well, Luke, when two people love each other and are in a committed relationship…"

Luke shook his head. "Ah, jeez, no… I meant…"

Lorelai nodded in understanding. "No, okay, sorry, I got it now. Remember that night, about a month and a half ago, when you decided that you were going to make me an ice cream sundae because I had a crappy day? And then…"

Luke leaned in and kissed Lorelai again. "Is that the only way you'll ever shut up?" he teased, taking her hand.

"Pretty much. No way I'm going Katie Holmes on you when this one comes, I rather enjoy thinking of all the possible ways I can insult and or torture you verbally."

"Another kid," Luke said, still in shock.

"Leah's going to wonder why Santa didn't bring her that pony now," Lorelai teased.


	9. Painter's Paradise

Luke opened the door to the room that was designated as the nursery. Suddenly he was very happy that Lorelai agreed to more renovations on the house. He placed the two gallons of yellow paint in the corner and sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy job. And stenciling the ducks that Lorelai insisted should be on the wall were going to be the most tedious task.

He reached into the bag of supplies he bought at the hardware store and pulled out the drop cloth. He pulled the bag open and placed the cloth on the floor. He sighed, mumbling about the lack of size for the price of the drop cloths, and reached into the bag, pulling out the second drop cloth. Why Lorelai didn't have old sheets or something of the sort around was beyond him.

He pulled his screwdriver out of the bag and fumbled with the paint tray stuck in the handles of the plastic. After finally freeing the tray, he took the screwdriver and popped the paint can open, pouring the paint into the plastic tray. Which was also expensive, and not worth the dollar he paid for it.

He opened the new sponge roller and turned around when he heard a pair of feet coming up the stairs outside the room. "Hey, Princess," Luke said as he saw Leah's head poking around the corner. "Come on in. Just don't touch the paint, okay?"

"Can I paint the baby's room?" Leah asked, plopping herself down in the middle of the empty room.

Luke smiled. "No, I'm not sure that's something Mommy would be thrilled with me letting you do. But I'm going to need someone to entertain me while I paint. Or else I'd be bored this whole time. Unless you think that's boring, or not cool or whatever."

Leah put her chin in her hands. "I won't be bored," she insisted, lacking a little enthusiasm.

Luke dipped the paint roller into the tray. "That wasn't very convincing. You okay?"

"I'm okay."

Luke put the roller down and sat on the floor. He pulled Leah onto his lap. "Something's up. Don't make me tickle it out of you," he warned, playing with her dark curls.

Leah wrapped her arms around Luke. "I'm scared," she mumbled, her face buried in his shirt.

"Gotta give me more than that, kiddo," Luke pressed.

"I don't know how to be a big sister. I've never been a big sister before."

"So that's why you've been quiet lately."

Leah pulled back and nodded. "I was happy first, but now I'm scared. Nobody taught me to be a big sister. Will you teach me?" she asked.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I was never a sister. I had a sister, but I was the big brother."

"Isn't it the same thing?"

Luke sighed. "Pretty much. But you know, nobody teaches people how to be big sisters, or how to be big brothers. It just happens."

"Rory and April didn't go to sister school?" Leah asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. They learned all on their own."

Leah scrunched up her nose and crossed her arms, letting out a huge sigh. "Well, Kayla was wrong then, I guess."

"I guess she was. She a big sister?" Luke asked.

"She has big sisters, but I don't think she is a big sister."

Luke pulled Leah close again and kissed the top of her head. "I think you're going to be a great big sister. Actually, I know you'll be a great big sister."

"How do you know?" Leah muttered, pulling back again and looking up into Luke's eyes.

"Remember how Mommy told you she knew everything in the whole world?"

Leah nodded, giving Luke a half smile. "Yeah, I remember," she said.

"Well, I'm the one that taught her everything she knows," Luke teased.

Her eyes widened. "You know a lot then!"

"I do. And I know you're going to do a great job."

She smiled. "Really?"

He nodded. "I do. I'll bet you a dollar you'll be a pro in no time."

"Deal," Leah said, almost knocking Luke over as she hugged him.

Luke picked Leah up and put her on the floor. "Well, you want to help me paint?"

Leah's eyes lit up. "Can I really?"

He stood up and nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. "Go put on one of those t-shirts Mommy made you for when you finger paint," Luke instructed, turning her around gently and guiding her toward the door.

"I'll be really, really fast. Don't paint until I come back!" Leah insisted.

"I'm counting," Luke teased, crossing his arms.

Leah giggled. "No you're not. You're going to make it up like last time when I told you to tell me how long I took!"

"One… two… three… you know you're wasting time, right, Leah? Four, five…"

She squealed and ran down the hallway. Luke tried to keep an accurate count in his head until he heard a thump coming from the hallway.

"You okay, Leah?" Luke called, poking his head out into the hallway to find Leah sitting on the floor, giggling.

She nodded. "I tripped," she announced.

"Told you not to run in the house," Luke said, pulling her up.

Leah sighed. "You're right," she groaned. "Let's paint!"

"Whoa, attention span of a fly," Luke teased.

"I'm ready to paint! What do I need to do?"

Luke smiled. "You're not ready to paint yet," he said, attempting to pull her curls back into a messy ponytail that he couldn't master no matter how hard he tried.

"I'm not?" Leah asked, patting her head and feeling for bumps in her hair after Luke moved away.

He shook his head. "Nope. Not even close. Come here," he instructed.

She gave him a suspicious look, holding back just a little before she slowly walked over to Luke. "What are you doing?" she asked with a giggle.

He motioned for her to come closer. When she finally obliged, he wrapped his arm around her, making sure she couldn't get away, and rubbed some yellow paint on Leah's nose and forehead. "You just didn't look like a painter, I thought you would want to look like a painter before you painted anything."

Leah giggled. "Can I see what I look like?"

Luke rolled his eyes, scooping Leah up and bringing her into the bathroom. "You look like a painter to me, what do you think?" he asked.

"You don't look like a painter," Leah pointed out.

"What makes you think that?"

Leah sighed. "I thought you knew everything. You don't have any paint on you!"

"I don't need paint on me yet. What if I don't want to look like a painter? Or a freakishly tall yellow bird?"

"Daddy, you have to look like a painter!" Leah insisted.

Luke sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist. "Fine. Don't go crazy, and not near the eyes, okay?" he consented, shutting his eyes and fearing what Leah was about to do to him. It wasn't often that he let Leah go crazy, but he knew she needed it.

"There," Leah said after making a masterpiece of Luke's cheek. "You're a painter now. Let's paint!"

Luke handed Leah a paintbrush. "You can paint right here, I'll paint up this way," he said, pointing to the wall.

Leah dipped the paintbrush into the tray, and Luke resolved to touch up her paint job later. They spent a few minutes talking and painting before they were interrupted by a knock on the doorframe.

"Well if it isn't Van Gogh and Michelangelo, in the flesh!" Lorelai said with a smile.

"We're painting, look!" Leah said, turning to face Lorelai and moving away from the wall.

Lorelai laughed, raising her eyebrows. "I see more paint on you two than there is on the wall, want to tell me about that, Cupcake?"

"We had to look like painters, Mommy," Leah insisted.

Glancing at Luke and shaking her head, Lorelai stifled another laugh. "Well, my little Monet, I think it's time to get you washed up for dance class," she said. "Go wait for Mommy in the bathroom, but don't get sucked down the toilet. I'll be there in a minute."

Leah giggled. "Mommy. I can't get sucked down the toilet," she said, putting down her paintbrush and walking out the door.

"I seem to recall a time where you didn't believe that," Lorelai replied, gently pushing her toward the bathroom. Lorelai walked into the room and looked at the wall, and then at Luke.

"Hi there," he said, pulling Lorelai in for a kiss.

"Hey there yourself, messy boy," she teased. "I was going to let you touch up that wall, before the drips dry and you're forced to live with the imperfection."

Luke rubbed Lorelai's belly. "I could have lived with it," he said.

Lorelai giggled. "Somehow, I doubt it. Go paint. I'll bring Leah to Patty's, and I'll bring home a pizza and a Chicken Caesar salad. You paint."

"Whatever you say," Luke replied, leaning in and kissing her again.

"We'll save dessert for later," Lorelai said with a wink.

"Lorelai," Luke hissed, motioning to the open door.

Lorelai waved her hand in the air and crossed her arms. "She's too busy talking to the rubber ducky. And what can I say, the hormones make me wish I had x-ray vision, even though you have yellow hearts on the side of your face," she teased.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Go get her cleaned up. We'll see what happens," he insisted.

She pinched Luke's backside on the way out, leaving him in the room, shaking his head.


	10. Major League Meltdown

"You're not going to believe this," Lorelai said, planting a kiss on Luke's cheek as she snuck up behind him.

"Did Britney Spears get married again?" he deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes. "Not everything in this world revolves around the crazy psycho pop princess gone bad… so not the point. I'll let Leah tell you herself. Seriously. You won't believe it until you hear it straight from the horse's mouth. Leah!"

Leah bounced into the kitchen, Paul Anka following close behind. "Hi, Daddy," she said sweetly, bending down to pat Paul Anka on the head before sitting down at the table.

"What is it? What is this thing I'm not going to believe that I have to hear from you?" he asked, his tone slightly curious and slightly nervous at the same time. With Leah, the sky was the limit. Or, there really wasn't a limit. Either applied.

Lorelai stifled a giggle and reached for the coffee pot. Luke grabbed the handle and watched as Lorelai's mouth gaped. "No!" she gasped.

He nodded. "What's up, Leah?" he asked, not bothering to look at Leah, but at Lorelai, while he poured Lorelai a cup of coffee.

Lorelai smiled. "Is it decaf?"

"Take what you can get. You're lucky I didn't pour it down the drain, which was my first thought," Luke warned.

She clutched the mug and sat down at the table. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "Okay, now he's listening, sweets, tell him."

"I want to play T-ball," Leah announced, grinning ear to ear.

Luke slid an oven mitt on his hand and stopped before opening the oven. "What did you just say?" he asked.

"I want to play T-ball!" she repeated, sitting on her hands and swinging her legs back and forth while sitting at the table.

"What on Earth gave you that idea?" Luke asked.

Leah sighed. "Well, I was thinking about how much you like baseball, and I said I wanted to play baseball. But Kiki says that girls don't play baseball, but they can play T-ball. So I want to play T-ball, Daddy!"

Luke turned to Lorelai. "Since when is our kid friends with Kirk's kid?"

Lorelai put her hand on her stomach and shrugged. "You're lucky that I don't invite them over for play dates, mister, you keep your mouth shut and keep the coffee coming."

"You want to play T-ball, Leah?" Luke asked.

Leah nodded. "Sign ups are tomorrow at school. Please?"

"You really want to play T-ball?" he confirmed.

She grinned. "More than I want a pony!"

Lorelai giggled. "Well, this one's serious, Daddy, if she wants it more than Suzie Sparkle the blue and pink checkered pony! What's the verdict, Judge Judy?"

Luke pulled the lasagna out of the oven and placed it on the counter. He turned to face Leah and took off the oven mitt, checking to make sure the oven was turned off. "You know that T-ball is like ballet, you have to practice, right?"

She nodded. "I'm going to be so good!"

He sighed, taking the foil off of the pan. "Fine. We'll sign you up tomorrow after school," he said.

Leah squealed. "Thank you, Daddy, thank you!" she screeched, wrapping her arms around his legs.

"Careful, sweets, Daddy doesn't have roots like the tree you hugged does," Lorelai warned.

"She hugged a tree?" Luke repeated, looking to Lorelai for confirmation.

Lorelai shrugged. "She's your kid," she said with a wave of her hand as she sipped the coffee.

"You know when the first game is, kiddo?" Luke asked.

"Saturday morning at 10:00," Leah announced proudly.

Lorelai groaned. "That's practically before sunrise!"

Luke shot Lorelai a look. "We'll be there, Leah, okay?"

She nodded. "I'm going to go practice!" she said, running out the back door and startling Paul Anka with the slam of the door.

"She's really excited about this T-ball thing, isn't she?" Lorelai asked.

Luke nodded. "Seems that way. Wonder what possessed her to do that."

"I don't know, but I think she wants some Daddy-Leah bonding time with this practice thing," she said, motioning toward the door.

Luke opened the cabinet and placed some lasagna on a plate for Lorelai. He brought it over to her, gave her a kiss and rubbed her belly on the way by. "I sensed that," he replied, grabbing his jacket. "We'll be in to eat in a few minutes. She'll get bored soon."

Lorelai nodded. "I'll be here," she said.

He walked outside to find Leah with the plastic yellow wiffle bat and the red tee, swinging and missing every time. He held back a laugh as he watched her stick her tongue out, deep in concentration, and swing and miss so hard that she fell backward. "Okay, I think it's time for a lesson," Luke insisted, kneeling down in the grass beside Leah. "Don't hold the bat so tight, loosen up," he instructed.

She obliged, loosening her grip on the plastic. She turned to Luke. "Watch out, I'm gonna swing," she warned.

Luke put his hands in front of his face just in time as Leah whipped the bat around, the edge touching the palms of his hand. He grabbed Leah by the waist, picked her up, and placed her on the correct side of the plate. "First things first, you're gonna need to know where to stand," he said patiently, giving her a wink.

"Here?" she asked, looking down at her feet.

Luke nodded. "Right there. Now, when you swing, you pull the bat back this far," he said, pulling her arms back gently so she could get a feeling of where to stop. "And then you keep your eye on the ball, move the bat forward, and hit the ball."

Leah jumped up and down. "Okay, got it. Back away. Ready?"

Luke backed up, slightly nervous to watch Leah swing again. He cringed as her bat hit the tee and knocked it over, fearing her reaction. He knew her patience was being tested. "That's okay, that's okay," he said, quickly jumping in and picking the tee up. "Try again," he insisted, putting the white ball on the tee.

Leah stuck her tongue out again, pulling the bat back and swinging again, this time above the tee. She tomahawked the bat in frustration and crossed her arms. "I can't do it," she groaned.

Luke crouched down to Leah's level. "It's okay, we'll try again tomorrow. You're hungry and tired, and I'm thinking tomorrow you'll want to try it again anyway. You're not a quitter."

"But if I can't hit a ball, I can't play in the game on Saturday. If I can't play in the game on Saturday, I can't hit a home run! Then you won't be proud of me!" she reasoned, her blue eyes welling up with tears.

He put his hand on Leah's shoulder. "I'm always proud of you kid, no matter what. What got that idea into your head that I wouldn't be proud of you if you didn't play T-ball?"

"Kiki," Leah said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Luke kissed Leah's tear stained cheek. "Let me give you a word of advice. Don't listen to Kiki. She gets everything she knows from Kirk… and Kirk's, well, Kirk."

Leah let out a tiny giggle and looked at Luke. "'Kay," she said, trying to wriggle away.

"I'm not finished with you yet, get back here," Luke teased. "Is this about the baby again?"

Leah shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know."

"You don't know," Luke repeated. "Well, how's this help you? I love you, no matter what you can or can't do. You may not be able to play T-ball, but you're a great reader, a great speller, and you're very nice to other people."

"I don't have anything that's like you though, Daddy! Everyone tells me I'm just like Mommy, and Kiki said that maybe that's why you and Mommy are having another baby, to be like you," Leah admitted.

Luke shook his head. "You are a lot like me," he answered. "You hate seeing people sad. You like fixing people's problems. You try to do whatever you can to make people happy."

"I guess so," Leah said.

He turned Leah to face him. "No matter what, you'll always be my Princess. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay," she said, planting a kiss on the bridge of his nose. "I'm hungry," she said, wiping away the residual tears.

He pulled himself up off of the ground. "Lasagna's ready," he replied, taking her hand and leading her into the house. "Wash your hands."

Leah went off running and Lorelai jerked her head around to Luke. "Did I see tears?"

He nodded. "Minor issues. We fixed it though," he said, putting more lasagna on Lorelai's plate. "She doesn't have a career in T-ball ahead of her, but she's a happy camper for now."

"So this means I can sleep in on Saturday?" Lorelai asked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

Lorelai smiled and shoveled a forkful of lasagna in her mouth. "I'm just trying to give Daddy and Princess some time together," she insisted.

"We're going to have plenty of time," Luke said, placing a plate in front of Leah, who emerged from the bathroom. "Right?" he asked with a wink.

"Right," Leah replied, digging into the lasagna.


	11. Princess Turned Big Sister

"I feel bad," Lorelai said, pouting.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Hey, we know from Leah that these guys don't accommodate your schedule when they want to come out. They just do. Leah isn't afraid of Babette anymore, I'm sure she won't mind playing with the cat," he insisted.

"I just don't want her to worry about us," Lorelai said, looking down at her newest baby. "I hope she gets along with this one."

He leaned in and kissed Lorelai on the forehead, brushing her dark curls away from her face. "I'm sure she'll be attached to him after awhile. Besides, I think she'll like being the only little girl around the house."

"So you can spoil her?" Lorelai asked, raising an eyebrow.

Luke grunted. "Try because you taught her that girls are the bossy ones," he added.

She smiled. "I'm awfully good at that. Sorry, little guy, you're stuck with her," she said, turning her attention to the sleeping little boy in her arms.

"I should be the one apologizing to him," Luke insisted. "Means nothing coming from you."

"Whatever. You two will gang up on us eventually anyway. But we'll know that forever, you'll have us wrapped around your little fingers, and even if you're mad at us, we'll bat an eyelash, and smile, and say 'I love you', and it will all be over," Lorelai teased.

Luke sighed. He knew it was the truth. He loved Lorelai, Leah, April, and Rory more than anything, but it was still true. He'd have to warn Ethan about it eventually. After all, he was a Danes man, and Danes men had the toughest time with saying 'no' to the girls. "Unfortunately, everything she just said is true, buddy," he said, directing the comment to the little boy.

"So Mom's going to the house to pick Leah up and let Babette get some sleep. Then she's bringing Leah here and letting her see her new little brother and by then he'll have a name, hopefully," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I still don't understand why you refuse to let him be called Luke."

He shuddered, shaking his head. "Because, I think he deserves his own name. How many times do we have to go over this?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Until your 'I'm annoyed' look stops being sexy."

"Ah, jeez. Lorelai. Can we please agree on a name? He deserves a name so Leah doesn't name him," Luke warned.

Lorelai shuddered. "You're right. The things she would come up with would scar him worse than Pilot Inspektor or Audio Science."

"People name their kids that?"

She nodded gravely. "Yes, that's why I say we should name the little peanut ourselves before Leah jumps in and names him Joe."

"Joe?"

"Steve's cousin, Blue's Clues. Where have you been?" Lorelai teased.

Luke sighed. "Somewhere far, far away from Joe."

"Tell me again why you don't like the name Luke?"

"I already told you," he grumbled. "Seriously, Lorelai."

She gently patted his arm. "Okay, Oscar, look. I know you haven't had a lot of sleep, but splits on a crate of dynamite over here. Think of me and look at me, your loving, adoring, selfless wife and mother of your children."

"Sorry. I just think the kid should have his own name," Luke said. "I mean, it could get confusing."

"It could," Lorelai agreed. "Well, I do have a name in mind. Tell me what you think. And I'm not going to take no for an answer on this one, so basically, you hear it and you say, 'Lorelai, the name is beautiful and so are you,' okay?"

"I can deal with the 'you're beautiful' part, but the name needs to be run past both parents," Luke insisted. "It's like getting married without the other person's consent!"

She giggled. "What do you think of the name Ethan?"

"Ethan?" Luke repeated.

She nodded. "We can name him Ethan and his middle name can be William. After your dad. I had a dream that we named him Ethan William. But that was also in the middle of the dream when I was Sandy from Grease. So?"

"Lorelai? The name is beautiful and so are you," he repeated dutifully, giving her a kiss.

"Thought you'd see it my way," Lorelai replied.

A knock on the door interrupted their quiet moment, and Leah came running into the room. Luke walked over to the door and picked Leah up. "Hey, Princess," he said, scooping her up and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Ready to meet your little brother?"

"I have a brother?" Leah asked, in awe.

Luke lifted Leah up so she could see Ethan for the first time. He placed her gently next to her mom on the bed. "That's him."

Lorelai giggled. "What did you think you were going to get, a cat?"

"His name's Ethan," Luke explained. "Want to hold him?"

She nodded. "I do! I do! Let me hold him!" she whispered.

Lorelai looked at Luke, smiling. "Man, for someone who was so apprehensive about this whole thing, she sure is excited now."

"He's cute," Leah said, looking at Ethan. "He looks like me."

Luke chuckled. "Sure he does," he said, humoring Leah. "Remember how I showed you to hold him?"

Leah nodded. "Yeah, I remember, can I have him please?"

"Wow, someone's awfully excited," Lorelai teased.

Luke shot her a look. "At least she says 'please,' unlike someone else I know."

As Lorelai handed Ethan over to Leah, Luke stood by the side of the bed to supervise further. He smiled as Leah talked to Ethan. He was relieved that she wasn't adverse to the idea of being a big sister anymore. He looked up at Lorelai, who smiled back at him. Surely they were thinking the same thing.

Luke watched as Lorelai instructed Leah on how to hold her little brother. It was a moment like no other. His little princess, the woman of his dreams, and his little boy, all together for the first time. He smiled. It couldn't get any better.

Leah's arms got tired after a few minutes and she handed Ethan back to Lorelai. Luke noticed Lorelai stifle a yawn and decided to give Lorelai some alone time.

"Hey, Leah, why don't we let Mommy and Ethan rest? I'll take you out for ice cream," Luke suggested.

Her eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked.

He nodded. "Big sisters need lots of ice cream to get energy so they can deal with their little brothers."

Lorelai laughed. "You two have fun," she said, blowing Leah a kiss.

"Bye Mommy!"Leah replied, blowing a kiss back. She took Luke's hand and allowed him to lead her out of the hospital room.

Luke looked down at Leah. "So what do you think?" he asked.

"I like him," Leah declared.

"You do? I do too. I think you'll have fun together."

Leah hugged Luke's leg suddenly, preventing him from moving any further down the hallway. He leaned over and picked her up. "What was that for, kiddo?"

"I like being your Princess," she insisted, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I know you have Rory and April too, but you only call me Princess."

He smiled. "This is true."

"Why?"

"Because you're my Princess. Rory and April are special too, but they're special in a different way. So's Ethan," Luke explained. "It just came to be that you were my Princess."

She smiled. "Okay."

"And you'll always be my Princess. No matter what. Got that?" he teased, pointing to her.

Leah put her head on Luke's shoulder. "I got it. Can we get chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles?"

"You are just like your mother," Luke chuckled. "A guy says what you want to hear and once you've heard that you need food."

"Am I still your Princess, then?" Leah giggled.

He nodded. "I told you that you always would be."

"How about now?" she asked.

"Yup," he said.

"Now?"

"Yes, Princess," he said, rolling his eyes in pretend annoyance.

She grinned. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Princess," he replied.

_The End_

**A/N: Another story comes to a close, and I want to again, thank everyone for their support through this one. This was hard to end, because I wanted to take the Leah and Luke saga a little further. I'm not ruling out a sequel at this point, but… we'll see what my muse thinks. Thanks again to everyone for reading!**


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